This blog contains assorted news and commentary on the fundraising profession and philanthropy gathered by the AFP Fundraising Resource Center.
Other Sites of Interest Section Disclaimer:
AFP provides the following listing of hyperlinks to other Internet pages as a privilege to the user. AFP does not necessarily endorse, support or attest to the accuracy of information posted on those Internet pages. Some links may require registration to view and/or may only be available for a limited time.

Co-Location, Combination and Inconjunction With: The Future of Events?: "This week the #Eventprofs twitter chat discussed the good, bad and ugly of co-location of events. There were mixed feelings on the topic, and a number of definitions shared. In the last six months I have attended three separate events which were co-located. Here are some thoughts and some things to consider."

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | What the Government Shutdown in Minnesota Means for Nonprofits and Communities: "On Wednesday afternoon, NPQ’s Ruth McCambridge talked with Jon Pratt of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and Kate Barr of the Minnesota-based Nonprofit Assistance Fund to get a sense of what a Minnesota state government shutdown would mean for nonprofits and what the two organizations are doing to prepare groups for what is expected to be weeks of life in limbo. As we spoke there was an emergency briefing occurring in Duluth, one of a statewide series of seven. The briefings covered not only contingency planning but advocacy."

Prior Lake, MN – In celebration of its extraordinary contributions to philanthropy and selfless work within the community, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community was honored at a Washington, D.C. awards gala on June 21, 2011. The event recognized 103 Americans and organizations with the 39th annual Jefferson Awards, regarded as one of the nation’s highest honors for community service and volunteerism."

How to woo the best: stress your good deeds - The Globe and Mail: "Soon after Ramon Gutierrez and his wife emigrated from Mexico in 2001, he began noticing Vancity Credit Union’s logo at community events in Vancouver. Then his wife took part in financial literacy seminars that Vancity held for newcomers to Canada. “Ever since that moment,” he says, “I had a connection with the organization.”"

NS Raghavan on way to change Indian philanthropy - The Economic Times: "Now, another of their ilk, Nadathur S Raghavan, or NSR, as he is popularly known, cofounder of Infosys, wants to deploy his millions, expertise and network to change the dynamics of philanthropy itself: how it is set, organised , governed and practised. Samhita Social Ventures , the newlyminted arm of the Nadathur Trust, hopes to alter the Indian philanthropic landscape through a series of initiatives. The first of these is Samhita.org, a philanthropy exchange or aggregator, like Give India or GuideStar India, that connects givers with causes and NGOs."

Results key for charity: "Hong Kong is a city of loving residents where charity and benevolence are core values. Many business people and wealthy individuals not only donate to charitable causes in their own names but also have set up charity funds. Through these they are able to benefit education, health, culture and welfare/social services regularly, providing assistance to those in need."

Some 7 percent of nonprofit executives said at some point already this year they have given notice of their intention to leave. The survey shows 26 percent of organizations downsized during the previous year, with 45 percent of nonprofit executives expressing happiness in their current position."

The Art of the Naming |: "For donors and organizations alike, the negotiations of naming rights for a building or program can be a tricky process. Donors are protective of their investment while the organization must think through the long-term impact a naming may have. The following are a few tips to consider before sitting down in the conference room to negotiate:"

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | Social Entrepreneurship as Fetish: "First, despite the many constructive and positive impacts created by nonprofit organizations both locally and nationally, there exists a looming doubt that our current efforts are reaching far enough fast enough, and that traditional ways of addressing community needs and social issues have the transformational capacity to deal with many of today’s complex and new social problems. In other words, the search is on for a new paradigm—a “game-changer”—based on fresh and different ways to create systemic change."

Meyer Foundation - Meyer Foundation: "Two-thirds of the 3,000 nonprofit executive directors surveyed plan to leave their jobs within five years. Executives express frustration with nonprofit funding models, amplified by the recession, but remain resolved and engaged.

Washington, DC—Daring to Lead 2011, a new national study of nonprofit executive directors conducted in the aftermath of the deepest economic recession in decades, reports that a significant number of executives plan to leave their jobs within the next five years, citing frustration with their organizations’ shaky finances, under-performing boards of directors, and the difficulty of maintaining healthy work-life balance in their demanding roles."

July and August are good months to refocus your fundraising strategy so you can hit the ground running come the autumn. While June is often taken up AGMs, July and August are usually slower times for most charities. Many boards of directors don’t meet and staff members take holidays with their families. You will have to balance between a quieter time to complete projects and adequate human resources to cover the tasks, but if you have a summer student, some projects can be delegated effectively."

The Council's overall mission is to educate current students about Loyola's operating fund, the Evergreen Fund. This fund takes donations made to the university and goes toward many of the extra aspects of Loyola life, such as clubs and activities, campus maintenance, technology upgrades, sports and athletics, scholarships and more. Each student's tuition covers only 75 percent of daily campus life expenses, and the money from the Evergreen Fund supports the remaining quarter."

In brief | SeacoastOnline.com: "YP4M, a new and local initiative to the agency, is designed to offer an attractive opportunity for young professionals in their 20s and 30s to contribute their talents to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Seacoast, and to promote a commitment of philanthropy among the next generation of professionals. As an arm of the agency's development initiatives, YP4M will plan and implement at least one fund-raising event each year and will be responsible for shaping the future of the group."

Nonprofit leaders study major gifts | Philanthropy Journal: "His new appreciation for the investment required in fundraising, he says, is the result of his participation in the inaugural class of the Leadership Gift School, a privately-funded effort to develop the philanthropic culture of nonprofits and the community.

The first class, which just graduated and included teams of executive directors and development directors from 12 nonprofits, plus the chief fundraiser at United Way of Central Carolinas, met for 8� hours roughly once a month for eight months.

Led by Karla Williams, a national fundraising consultant based in Charlotte, the school's faculty consisted of development directors at local nonprofits."

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Campaign Competition: "Some organizations spend millions of dollars and months of time developing an advocacy campaign. National Children's Alliance, an association of children's advocacy centers, has found a way to give all its members top-notch multimedia campaign content on the cheap with the help of some friendly competition."

GoLocalProv | Politics | PowerPlayer: Kate Brock: "My story is this: when I was twelve I spent five mornings a week for several months volunteering at the Amos House. Day in and day out, I cut vegetables, organized the stock room and served meals in South Providence. And each one of those days, I would see people who didn’t have enough to eat. Kids, just like me, who, if not for the charity of others, would go to bed hungry. And the only difference between us was that I was born to a different family in another neighborhood. This violated the fundamental value of fairness that I had been taught to cherish. It also taught me that through simple acts, cutting vegetables, or spooning mashed potatoes onto a plate, a single person could ease the suffering of another."

I’m hosting the Nonprofit Blog Carnival for the month of June featuring links and summaries of the top posts from around the blogosphere around handling objections. I also wanted to reach out see if anyone from the A Small Change community had anything to add on an earlier conversation."

The Nonprofit Quarterly | @npquarterly | National Increases in Corporate Giving Not Seen in Abilene: "June 25, 2011; Source: Abilene Reporter-News | In Abilene, Texas nonprofits are finding the challenge of raising corporate money more difficult than ever. Last week, the Giving USA 2011 report said that charitable giving by corporations in 2010 actually rose 10.6 percent. How does that make sense to groups like the Abilene Education Foundation, whose latest grant from the Citi Foundation was only half of last year’s amount? As the Education Foundation’s executive director, Jean McMillon, explained, 'The gentlemen we go through had contacted me and said they were having to cut their funding.”"

Monday, June 27, 2011

by Susan Griffin, Director of Operations, Center for Nonprofit Excellence

Collaboration is one of the big buzz words in the nonprofit sector. This is in part because fundraising in 2010 remains a huge challenge. As Ohio’s 2011-2012 biennial budget predictions paint an even gloomier picture for the State’s nonprofit sector, the fundraising pressure will continue for at least the next few years."

Editorial: Protecting charitable giving | Deseret News: "The associational freedom, volunteerism and charity that help to address social needs precede, both historically and conceptually, a tax-funded administrative state attempting to do similar things. While we generally support tax reforms that scrape away many of the encrusted exceptions that have attached themselves to our tax code over the years, the charitable tax deduction is not one of them. The exceptional habit of the American heart to voluntarily pool resources to solve problems deserves renewed attention and care, not an unprecedented tax."